Hollow Hearts
by Enchanted13
Summary: After a tragic accident, the Gilmore Girls are left trying to pick up the pieces and go on with their lives. Warning: Major Character death
1. Memories and Friday Night Dinners

**Of course, as per usual I own nothing in this story including the characters and the song. I do, however, own the plot. This is my first fanfiction so any advice would be gratefully received. Thank you :)**

_**Chapter 1- Memories and Friday Night Dinners**_

She could still remember the day, that fateful day, as if it were yesterday. It was a Friday night but Emily and Richard were off gallivanting across Europe again and so Friday Night Dinner was cancelled. That made that day amazing in Lorelai's eyes; she didn't have to put up with her mother. They had been getting on a lot better recently but there was no guarantee that the trend would continue. To make the day even better, Rory was coming home from Yale for the weekend, meaning a weekend of mocking films and eating junk food, something which was very difficult to do with Luke telling her how her eating habits were going to be the death of her, when Rory was around they outnumbered him, making it much easier.

Her relationship with Rory had got back on track after she came back from Europe, turns out a cooling off period and some mutual mocking of Emily Gilmore was all that was needed to mend that relationship. She didn't know what she would have done if Rory had refused to speak to her for much longer. Sure, they had had arguments before but this one was so much worse than any of those previous ones. The reason for the argument had been a genuine reason, unlike the argument they had years ago about Rory's boobs being bigger than hers and stretching all of her tops. The thought of that argument made her laugh to herself; Rory definitely did not bring out her mature side. Also, for the first time in a long time, Lorelai had been sure that she was the one who was right, Rory was so much smarter than her (she was going to an Ivy League school for god's sake, Lorelai didn't even get the chance to graduate from high school, she was too busy worrying about stretch marks and contractions) so it was rare that Lorelai was sure she was correct when arguing with her, but in this case she had been sure. Finally Rory had seen her error and they were back to being the mother-daughter team who were more like best friends.

The particular night, Lorelai was especially excited because she was hosting her own Friday Night Dinner with all the junk food they could eat (plus some health-freak food for Luke) and gossip galore. There had to be gossip, what with her responsibilities at the inn and Rory's studies at Yale, they hadn't seen each other for long enough to have a proper gossip for a long time. That was one of the bad things about having a daughter who had gone off to college, she barely saw her now. Lorelai was at peace with that now though; there had been no repeat performance of her meltdown in the park. She understood that her daughter had to make her own way in life and that involved living on her own. That didn't mean that Lorelai didn't still find herself wishing she could slow time down for a bit and go back to when Rory was younger. Just last week she had been listening to Taylor Swift's new album and had sobbed her heart out as she listened to Never Grow Up:

_Oh darling don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up_

_Just stay this little_

_Oh darling don't you ever grow up_

_Don't you ever grow up_

_It could stay this simple_

That song basically explained Lorelai's feelings she had as she left her daughter in her new home at Yale that day which seemed a lifetime ago. Life had moved on a lot since then, she and Luke had become more than friends, Rory had spent her first year at college and gone around Europe with her grandmother and Dean and Lindsay had broken up. At first Lorelai had been worried that Rory was going to continue seeing Dean after he left Lindsay but Rory had told her that she had learned from her mistakes and that she didn't intend to see Dean in that way again.

Rory was working at the paper at Chilton today but she would be back later and Luke was collecting some supplies for the diner and then he was coming around too. She couldn't wait to see them both, the two most important people in her life. She knew she had seen Luke only that morning but she still felt like it had been an age since she had seen him and she couldn't wait for that evening.

That thought made her drift off into memories of the past year. Yes, it had been a year since she kissed Luke at the opening of the Dragonfly. She couldn't believe how fast the year had gone. They had had their first date, where she found out that Luke had kept that horoscope for 8 years. She still marvelled at that almost a year later. She seemed so important to him in that moment that he knew he needed to keep that horoscope with him at all times. Luke had visited her parents' house and consequently been "Gilmored" for the first time and she had spent every single day marvelling at how she possibly deserved such an amazing guy.

She was still daydreaming about the time she had spent with Luke over the past year when the phone rang. She was stunned out of her daydreaming, then she wondered who could possibly be ringing, Rory would be almost home now, Luke would too, so neither of them would be calling her. She walked over to the phone and picked it up curiously

"Hello, Lorelai Gilmore speaking?" she said

"Hello, Ms Gilmore, this is Detective Trent. I'm afraid I have some bad news"

**Leaving you in suspense :) I hope you liked it, let me know if you want me to upload the next chapter (which is much longer by the way) I hope you liked it **


	2. Bad News and Hospital Visits

**I hope you guys liked the last chapter. I didn't think I could leave you in suspense for long so here is the next chapter to keep you going until I've written some more**

**Enchanted13 3**

_Previously on Hollow Hearts:_

"_Hello, Ms Gilmore, this is Detective Trent. I'm afraid I have some bad news"_

_**Chapter 2- Bad News and Hospital Visits**_

Lorelai's blood ran icy cold. Something terrible had happened, she just knew it.

"I believe you know a Mr Luke Danes?"

"Y-yes, I do" Lorelai's heart now began to beat double time. Something had happened to Luke, the man she loved, the man for whom she had waited for 8 long years.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but he was in an accident just outside of Stars Hollow this evening. A truck came around a bend too fast and didn't turn properly, it hit his car. He has been taken to the hospital. You are listed as his next-of-kin. I'm so terribly sorry, is there anybody you can call to take you there? I don't want you driving after hearing this news"

Lorelai wasn't even listening anymore. Only some words like "crushed" and "surgery" registered. She said goodbye and hung up the phone.

She was now sat, motionless on the couch. After what felt like forever, she reached for the phone and dialled a very familiar number.

"Mom?" Rory answered "I'm on my way as we speak, just don't start the movie without me."

"Rory?" Lorelai choked out. Rory could immediately tell something was very wrong. Her heart was in her mouth as she asked the next question.

"What's wrong mum?"

"It's Luke, he was in an accident. He's in the hospital". Rory felt the beginnings of a deluge of tears sting her eyes but she knew that right now she had to stay strong for her mom. She swallowed thickly and tried to sound business-like and to cover up the fact that she was just minutes away from falling apart.

"I'm nearly home mom. Get all of your stuff ready and wait for me at the house. I'll pick you up and we'll go straight there"

"OK" Lorelai sounded so small and broken on the phone and Rory could understand why, she had just been told that the love of her life was in hospital.

The last 5 minutes of the journey to her mother's house Rory had wept freely, trying to keep enough self-control to ensure she was safe to drive. Her mother wouldn't be able to cope if she got another call that night about Rory. When she arrived at the house she had to check her makeup in the car mirror before she approached the house. Luke was like a father to her, her actual father had never really been there for her but Luke had made her mashed potato when she was ill and that was ll she would eat, he had blown up balloons for her and baked a coffee cake for her birthday and he had gone to her high school graduation. As much as she loved Luke and wanted to curl up into a ball and cry her heart out, she had to be strong for her mother.

Climbing out of the car she noted something. She knew it was impossible but even the house looked more depressing than usual. Walking up to the front door, Rory tried to think of what she was going to say but, despite going to a prestigious Ivy League school and aspiring to be a successful journalist, she simply couldn't find the words. There was never an option of a class in how to speak to your mother when she has just been told her boyfriend is injured. Rory still didn't know how serious Luke's injuries were; she didn't suppose her mom would have thought to ask. Though she guessed the police didn't call the next-of-kin of an adult for just a few bruises or a broken bone.

Opening the door of the house, she heard muffled sobs coming from the living room. She walked through the foyer and went in search of her mom. Sure enough, she found her curled up on the couch cradling one of Luke's flannel shirts and sobbing. Each catch in her mother's breath broke Rory's heart. She walked over to the couch and gently took her mother's hand. Slowly she rubbed her thumb over the knuckles, the way Lorelai did with her when she was upset. Lorelai looked up, startled. Evidently she hadn't heard Rory come in. She began to wipe her eyes as if she thought she needed to be strong for Rory. Rory shook her head.

"It's OK mom, you can cry. Shall I get you into the car so we can go and see Luke?" Rory said this in the way you speak to a child and she winced at the patronising tone of voice she had used but it seemed to work. Lorelai got up and slowly made her way to the front door, never letting go of Luke's shirt.

Rory ran around the house, grabbing Lorelai's phone, purse and a couple of magazines foreseeing the possibility of a long wait. Then she returned to the front door and took her mother gently by the hand.

She didn't bother to lock the front door. It's Stars Hollow, nothing happens here! Climbing into her car, she started the engine and they left.

The drive to the hospital was silent. Lorelai was sniffing and hiccupping in the passenger seat and Rory was at a loss for what to say for the first time in her life. This made the journey seem to last forever. Early on in the journey Rory turned the radio on but all the stations seemed to have decided that today was the day to play very happy songs. Rory didn't feel that it would be right to listen to that kind of song when on the way to visit Luke in hospital so the radio was very quickly turned off.

Finally they reached the hospital. It was big and grey and it loomed menacingly over their heads. Rory stared up at it and gulped. Her strong facade was starting to fade now as the reality of the situation began to sink in but she was trying her best to keep it together.

The hospital corridors were long and white. They smelt of chemicals which made Lorelai feel sick, her Luke (because he was _her _Luke) was in this place which felt so harsh and unfeeling. The corridors seemed to go on forever and to eternity but all she could think of was Luke and getting to him. She was glad to have Rory by her side.

As Lorelai was thinking and hurriedly walking down the corridor she felt a small soft hand take her and she looked across to see a pale, frightened Rory smiling tearily back at her. She hadn't even thought about how this would be affecting Rory. Of course she was going to be in pain as well, she had known Luke from a very young age and he was like a father to her. Lorelai squeezed Rory's hands and tried to form a weak smile.

They walked down the corridor hand in hand and finally reached the reception in ICU.

"I'm looking for Luke Danes" said Rory. Lorelai looked at her and smiled appreciatively at her.

"Are you a relative?" the nurse asked

"Well...sort of, he's my mother's boyfriend" said Rory hesitantly

"And is this your mother?" asked the nurse. 'Is she an idiot?' Rory thought, 'We look so similar, we couldn't possibly not be related'

"Yes she is" Rory said instead ever polite. The nurse informed them that Luke was in room 183 and Lorelai immediately strode off in search of her love, leaving Rory scampering after her in an effort to catch up.

Finally, after much counting and panicking that she might have missed it, Lorelai reached room 183. She stood hesitantly outside of the door nervous about going in and what she might see. Rory finally caught up to her and noticed that she wasn't going in.

"Mom? He's just through that door, go to him, he would want to know you are with him" she said in an attempt to encourage her mother.

Lorelai looked back at Rory, nodded and took a deep breath. Finally she opened the door and walked in. She was greeted by the most terrible sight she had ever seen. Luke was lying in a bed, so pale that he almost seemed to blend into the white sheets on the bed. He looked so small (if there was ever a word she didn't expect to use to describe Luke it was small, and if it weren't for the situation that thought would have deserved a "dirty").

Lorelai didn't know how long she sat next to Luke looking at the gash across his head and the laboured way in which he was breathing but she was brought out of her thoughts by Rory entering the room. Suddenly Lorelai realised that she had been crying without even noticing and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. She looked up and saw Rory stood in the doorway looking pale and shocked. The sight of Luke had obviously shaken her and Lorelai watched, feeling her heart break even further, as her daughter took a deep, ragged breath and began to sob uncontrollably.

Rory was such a brave girl. Lorelai realised that she had been trying to hold it together for her but she was surprised how long she had kept it up for her. She gestured to Rory who came and sat in the chair next to Lorelai. They leant into each other and gave each other the support they both needed.

They must have fallen asleep like that because suddenly they were woken by machinery beeping all around them. They looked at each other in horror and watched as teams of doctors and nurses raced into the room.

"You'll have to leave, I'm afraid" one of the nurses said kindly. Lorelai couldn't tear her eyes away from Luke and Rory had to drag her out of the room. Looking back one last time before the door closed, Lorelai saw them getting out the paddles. She had watched enough hospital based TV programmes to know that using those meant that they were trying to restart his heart.

They sat in the corridor for what felt like an age but was probably in reality less than half an hour, before a doctor came out of the room. They both stood up quickly, hoping that he would have some good news for them. The doctor came over to them and said the words they were both dreading

"I'm sorry, we couldn't save him". Lorelai didn't hear anymore, except Rory's startled cry of "Mom!" as she collapsed to the floor and the world became darkness.

**I'm sorry, I know you probably all hate me now but it will get happier later I promise. Thank you for reading this chapter and I hope to see you soon for the next instalment of **_**Hollow Hearts**_


	3. Sadness and Phone Calls

**Enchanted13 3**

_Previously on Hollow Hearts:_

"_I'm sorry, we couldn't save him". Lorelai didn't hear anymore, except Rory's startled cry of "Mom!" as she collapsed to the floor and the world became darkness. _

_**Chapter 3-Sadness and Phone Calls**_

Lorelai woke up in the waiting room off of one of the corridors. She was covered in a blanket and had somebody's coat (she later saw that it was Rory's) under her head acting as a pillow. She sat up gently and saw Rory lying on a couple of chairs on the other side of the room. She was sleeping but she had obviously been crying as she had tear stains on her cheeks and her mascara had run making the tracks of her tears even more obvious. Lorelai felt so lost. How was she supposed to comfort her daughter when she herself felt as if her whole world had collapsed?

She stood up and walked out of the waiting room. She didn't know exactly what she was planning on doing but she carried on anyway. She walked down the corridors until she reached room 183, this is, was, Luke's room. She peeped in through the window in the door and almost broke down again when she saw that the bed was empty, had been stripped and remade. It was as if Luke had never been there, how could the world just carry on, when the most amazing man in it was gone?

She ran away from that room as quickly as she could. Once again she didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she had to get away from that room, away from anything that reminded her that Luke was d-; she couldn't bring herself to even think it. As she turned the corner floods of memories came back to her.

"_They're gonna keep him in overnight but-uh-he's gonna be fine" _

"_It's OK. OK, see here's where the guy is supposed to give the girl his handkerchief but I don't have one and plus I find the practice a little revolting, so..."_

She couldn't believe she wasn't going to have her Luke around to comfort her or to help her anymore. She wouldn't have gotten through that time when her dad was in hospital if it wasn't for Luke. He was always so strong, why did he have to give up, why did he stop fighting? As she was thinking this she had somehow managed to find her way back to the waiting room she had woken up in. It was a good thing she had because the doctor was just about to go in, she assumed to talk to her. She was right.

"Ah, Ms Gilmore" he said. She could tell that he was trying to sound comforting and supportive but there was nothing he could do. The only thing that could make her feel better would be if he could bring back Luke for her, but she didn't suppose that was possible.

"I was wondering if you wanted to see Mr Danes" Lorelai was shocked. She didn't know, did she want to see Luke as he is now or did she just want to remember him as he was before. She obviously looked scared and unsure because the doctor then said

"You don't have to decide right now, just come and find us if you want to. We will wait until this evening before we do anything further."

Lorelai thanked him in a hoarse whisper and then entered the waiting room again. Next to Rory she saw her purse and her phone. She looked in her purse and found a chocolate bar but she wasn't in the mood to eat, and didn't think she would ever be again. She then checked her phone. She had 10 missed messages, which she proceeded to listen to in turn. Some weren't important but a couple struck her

"_Lorelai, it's Sookie, I was just wondering if you were OK, you didn't turn up to work this morning and you're not answering your mobile or your house phone. Please call me back, I'm worried about you"_

"_Lorelai, it's your mother. Your answer phone isn't very professional; I would change that if I were you. You run an inn now; you have to show people that you are professional and a business woman. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know we are coming home on Tuesday"_

Lorelai immediately began to dial

"Sookie, it's Lorelai"

"Lorelai, where are you, are you OK, what happened?"

"Sook, I'm at the hospital, Luke-Luke was in an accident, he-h-he's g-gone"

"What? I'm on my way Lorelai, do you need anything?"

"No. It's OK Sookie"

At this point Rory stirred and woke up. Lorelai watched as her confusion turned into horror as Rory remembered the events of the previous night. Then Rory began to panic as her eyes fell on the seats where her mother had been sleeping and saw they were empty. Lorelai walked up behind Rory and put her hand on her shoulder. Rory relaxed into it and felt herself welling up again.

Rory was scared. She didn't know how to help her mom. She knew that her mom was in a lot of pain at the moment but Rory wasn't experienced in these things. Plus, her mother would always try to hold herself together around her, Rory may legally be an adult now, but she was always going to be Lorelai's baby girl. Lorelai was unlikely to open up to her but Rory didn't know who to call to help her mom.

Lorelai turned away from Rory as she felt her emotions starting to get the better of her once again.

"I-I just need to go to the bathroom" she managed to choke out before she fled the waiting room. She didn't even make it to the bathroom; she rounded the corner and then leant against the wall as she began to sob. Her body shook with the strength of the sobs and she slid down the wall to curl up in a ball on the floor.

Finally she calmed down enough to think clearly. There was no way she was going to be able to cope with the necessary arrangements, even thinking about it made her feel sick. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. She then made a call she never expected she would make. The person the other end answered and Lorelai uttered one word in a volume barely above a whisper:

"Mommy"

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